


Moving on is Moving Forward Not Backwards

by ChickadeeChickadoo



Series: Not so much Time Travel as Alternate Universe Jumping [4]
Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: All of the clones need hugs, And he's really just having a rough day, And he's sad about that, And his best friend turned to the Dark Side, And unenslavement, Because he has a kid in the future, Darth Vader Needs a Hug, Everyone Needs A Hug, Galaxy in chaos, Gen, He doesn't like it there, He wants Anakin back to, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Obi-Wan is so confused, Order 66, Padme is dead, People from the future past start coming back, Sidious does not like this, Sidious needs to die, So he really needs to get back, That might be alive, it's a mess, that's important too, this is such a mess, vader goes back in time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:02:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28005111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChickadeeChickadoo/pseuds/ChickadeeChickadoo
Summary: A Vader who never met his children- who never changed- is sent back into the past with the corpse of his dead wife.He learns several things, the most important of which is that his child is probably still alive. Alive in a future he no longer resides in.And Vader will do anything to find them.(On Hiatus for the next 18 months until I get back from my mission)
Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker & Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader & Mace WIndu, Darth Vader & Yoda, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Darth Vader, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Not so much Time Travel as Alternate Universe Jumping [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815298
Comments: 144
Kudos: 277





	1. Funny story- I said I wouldn't and now I am... I my defense I had more time than I thought originally

When Obi-Wan arrived he was horrified- and confused.

Anakin wasn’t there. Where had he gone? Who had his comm?

The man on the floor- he looked horrible. His skin was scarred horribly and so pale- like he hadn’t seen the sun in years. And he was wearing Anakin’s clothes. How…

The man was screaming on the floor- screaming until he didn’t have breath left- then screaming some more.

Obi-Wan could feel the force flowing though him- it was like nothing Obi-Wan had ever seen before.

Darkness ripped the man apart to let light in and light sustained him.

But even that light seemed almost… tainted. Like it was being forced through a hole through which it wasn’t supposed to fit.

Obi-Wan moved over to Padme- unnaturally still on the couch. He pressed his fingers to her neck.

It was cold- freezing cold.

With how fast he’d gotten here- her corpse should still be warm. This was not a body that’d recently been alive.

Obi-Wan stumbled back.

How…

And then the medical team arrived.

They took the man on the floor- whatever or whoever he was- and Padme as well.

What had happened? Padme felt like a corpse that had been preserved and Anakin- where was Anakin?

And who was wearing his clothes? The man was obviously a force user- and a darksider at that- but… how had he gotten here? Where was Anakin?

Obi-Wan followed them to the hospital. He had… questions.

…---…

Vader was barely conscious.

Everything hurt. And then- then people were lifting him, _touching_ him, and they were almost… gentle. Their fingertips seemed to burn as they brushed exposed skin and Vader wanted them gone and he also never wanted them to leave because it felt so _good_.

It’d… it’d been nineteen years since an actual person had touched his bare skin.

And then the hands were gone and a respirator snapped onto his face.

Other machines connected to him- far bigger and bulkier than what he was used to.

Still- they would keep him alive.

He felt the force slip out of his grasp and allowed his mind to fall into darkness.

…---…

Obi-Wan stared at the droid for a long moment. “What?” he finally asked.

“Padme’s body has been preserved for somewhere between ten and thirty years.” The droid repeats. “She was pregnant and delivered her children before her death- though her body was arranged to look as though she was still carrying. Her cause of death is unknown.”

“And the other part?” Obi-Wan was too old or too young or too _something_ for this. Tired maybe. Worn.

“Anakin Skywalker appears to be somewhere between thirty and fifty years old. The scar damage makes observing hard.

“It is believed- based on the prosthetics apparent age- that most of the damage happened nearly twenty years ago and never healed properly.

“His body is made of less than 35% organic material. At one point he seems to have been set alight so the entirety of his skin burnt off. His skin is pale to the point that sun exposure would burn him easily. He is missing four limbs, all replaced with prosthetics. Three of the limbs appear to have been removed in the same lightsaber strike.”

Padme’s corpse was healthier than Anakin’s body.

“I need to see him,” Obi-Wan finally said.

Jedi were the only family Jedi really had. Obi-Wan was allowed in.

Anakin looked like death warmed over- buried under the machines that were sustaining his life.

Obi-Wan stepped forward. He would have squeezed Anakin’s hand- but he doubted Anakin would be able to feel that properly.

Obi-Wan gently lay a hand on Anakin’s shoulder and squeezed gently.He couldn’t help but think of the way the darkness had seems to swirl around Anakin when he was conscious.

He didn’t want to think about it.

He did anyways.

…---…

They put him on Force Suppressants. He was a Darksider now- if not something worse- and they couldn’t risk him waking up and hurting someone.

Obi-Wan winced at the pained whine Anakin made when they were placed, but there was nothing he could do.

If Anakin had chosen the Darkside- how had this happened? And why?

The only one who knew those answers was Anakin. So all they could do was wait.


	2. Confusion is a real thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader and the Jedi Council... talk.

When Vader woke again there was no pain. He blinked, but nothing hurt.

Nothing hurt- except for the gaping nothingness that yawned open inside of his chest and _where was it where was it where was it-_

Vader tried to gasp but the respirator prevented him- controlling even his breath.

He wanted to rip it off- he wanted to breathe on his own- but he couldn’t.

Vader allowed anger to overtake panic. Whoever had cut off the Force- they would _pay._ He would tear them apart. They would beg for mercy and he… and… he…

Vader blinked. He could see _colors._ Other than red.

He tried to look around- and though it was obvious he was in a hospital somewhere- but everything looked… hazy.

His eyes weren’t exactly the best- what with being nearly boiled out of their sockets- so he didn’t tend to use them to actually see much.

The mask helped of course- but using the Force was so much _easier_. The Force was in and through everything. Sensing it and then sensing what it was inside was hard to get used to, but he’d adjusted quickly enough.

And now he didn’t have even that.

He had an IV, awkwardly placed in his shoulder, that was probably delivering some of the repressants… and he had a collar. 

He tried to reach up, tear it out, tear it _off_ , but his hands were cuffed to the bed.

He tugged against them, trying to break free.

Something starting beeping and Vader tugged harder.

A white blob of a creature rushed into the room and began fiddling with something connected to the IV.

And suddenly, it was so hard to focus… and he was so tired…

Vader eyes slid shut.

…---…

The next time he woke up- it was to find four members of the Jedi council in his room.

He looked at them for a long moment.

Yoda. Windu. Mundi. And Kenobi.

He jerked forward with a growl and the stupid cuffs around his wrists kept holding him back from reaching out a hand and _strangling_ them and…

 _Windu?_ Vader blinked, confusion bleeding through anger. Now that he was actually looking… they were all much _younger_ than they should be.

And two of them were alive, when they really should be dead.

_How?_

Kenobi had jerked back when Vader had tried to attack, and now he seemed to be relaxing slightly. _Fool._ All Vader would need was one chance to snap his neck and…

And Vader was bound securely. Perhaps not _too_ big of a fool them.

There was a hole in every defense though- he just needed to find it.

But why hadn’t they just killed him yet?

“Where am I?” Vader demanded. His voice came out a weak croak rather than the deep booming sound he was accustomed to his vocoder making.

“You’re in the Halls of Healing,” Kenobi said, “You panicked in the hospital, so we had you transferred here.”

 _Halls of Healing?_ As in the Jedi Temple. The Jedi Temple that had become a palace for the Sith. “Don’t play games with me,” Vader hissed, as well as he was able anyways, “The Jedi are dead. The Sith rule. The Jedi Temple burnt and was remade as their palace. The Halls of Healing are no more- along with your order. Now I ask again- where am I?”

Vader was pleased to see the horror unfolding on their faces- but why would they be shocked? They’d been there… they’d seen it. Well, except for Windu. And Mundi. Who were really supposed to be _dead_. How were they alive?

“How are you alive?” Vader found himself asking. “I saw your body,” he nodded to Mundi, “On the floor after your duel with Darth Sidious. If you can even call it a _duel_ … you were dead before you could lift your blade.” He’d watched the recording afterwards- they’d been so weak. Except for Windu and he… had been too much a Sith in the end to stop Vader from becoming one.

“And you,” he turned to Windu, “Were thrown out the window of the Chancellor’s offices missing an arm.” He turned finally to Yoda and Kenobi. “And shouldn’t you two be older?”

He… hadn’t meant to say all that. Apparently pain medication made him talkative.

Which was probably why he wasn’t allowed very much.

“Anakin,” Kenobi said, taking a small step forward- like he was approaching a wild animal. “Do you know what year it is?”

“It has been nineteen years since the formation of the Empire.” Vader said, slowly, as though talking to a child.

“No,” Kenobi said, shaking his head, taking another step forward. “There is no Empire. We just took the Invisible Hand. You killed Dooku. The Republic- the Senate- is in charge.”

Vader looked around him again. He was… he recognized this place. It hadn’t looked like this in a long, long time. And- they all looked so… _young_.

But… How? Was Sidious testing him again? Giving him a chance to see where Vader’s loyalties truly were even though Vader had proven himself over and over and _over_ again.

“Anakin,” Kenobi said, reaching out a hand, “What happened? How- I got a call and suddenly Padme was dead- the body had apparently been dead for years- and you- you-”

 _Padme is dead._ It sent a knife through him, like always, but he couldn’t think of that, not when Kenobi’s hand was reaching for him-

Reaching like Skywalker had once reached- burning- wanting so desperately to beg Obi-Wan to come back- to save him-

Knowing that Obi-Wan would not.

Watching as he walked away.

 _What happened!?_ Kenobi was asking _what happened?_

Vader meets Kenobi’s blue eyes with his golden ones, sitting up, as best he could, leaning forward. “Everyone dies.” Vader said, words biting, intended to wound- to _destroy_. “Everyone except for Yoda… and you. The Sith rise to power and you live out your lives alone in exile knowing that everything you’ve ever worked for is destroyed and everything you’ve ever loved” _You were my brother Anakin!_ “ _…_ is gone.”

Kenobi stilled, swallowing. “And the child?” Kenobi asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Vader blinked. Child? What child? “Padme’s child.” Kenobi said, “The body looks like its pregnant- but she isn’t. From what they can see… the coroners think the child would have lived.”

And Vader’s world shattered.

They weren’t supposed to mention the child- the child that he’d killed. It’d been an accident- of sorts. He hadn’t meant for them to _die_.

It’d been his hand that choked their life away all the same.

“The child is dead.” Vader said, forcefully, “Died with Padme. Both of them died. _Everyone_ died.”

But he couldn’t help thinking- he’d never checked her actual body. When she’d been buried- he’d been burnt- laid out on a metal table like a slab of meat. He’d been remade.

Had Sidious checked? Surely he would have. Vader’s child would have been powerful- _very_ powerful. Not checking would be an oversite Sidious would never make.

And if Sidious had checked? And the child was alive?

Would he have told Vader? Or would he have realized that in revealing the life of the child he would be splitting the loyalties of a useful tool?

Were they dead- not because Vader had killed them- but because Sidious had?

Vader had to get back. To his own time. Where his child was- could- be. He would make sure the child was actually gone. And if it wasn’t-

Well. He’d burn down the galaxy to find them.


	3. Accidentally on purpose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! Have a present.

“I think I figured it out,” Anakin said.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Anakin nodded. “See- I was trying to sense Luke and Leia right? Well, the force signatures of Luke, Leia and Padme were all tangling together. So, I tried to separate them to sense our child better.”

Obi-Wan was gaping at him now, something like horror spreading across his face. That whole separating thing had probably been a bad idea then. Anakin really should have paid more attention to the classes on healing…

Anakin hurried on before Obi-Wan could get a word in. “And then.” Anakin said, “The Force threw my forward in time. I didn’t- well, as close as I can figure the Force kind of did what I wanted. It took me to a time where Leia and Luke and Padme were separate so I could feel Leia’s force signature. The reason it took me so far forward was because I really didn’t interact with Leia until then.

“I don’t know why it brought me in late- before I could prevent her being hurt- but maybe it’s just not an exact science? Maybe the circumstances of looking at her Force Signature were closer on the bridge than an interrogation room? I don’t know. But- I think that’s what happened.”

Obi-Wan was quiet for a long moment. “You think you can go back.” He finally said.

Anakin nodded. “Vader and I… switched. And it obviously doesn’t affect our world- everything has stayed the same except for what I’ve changed by being here. But… there are still people I love back there. And I don’t want to leave them with him. He could kill them all over again.”

Obi-Wan rubbed his forehead. “He might not have survived,” Obi-Wan pointed out, “He needed a life support suit to live- and you kept it. You showed up in his clothes… he likely showed up in yours. Unless he got medical attention very quickly, I can’t imagine that he’s still alive.”

“But Sidious is still back there!” Anakin said, “He could turn the clones against the Jedi even without me doing anything- Order 66 and all that. I could at least defeat _him_.”

Obi-Wan just looked at him for a moment longer. “If you can take us back,” he finally said, “I’ll go with you.”

And Anakin nodded.

…---…

Vader had found the holes through which the Force was able to trickle and was picking away at them when Sidious arrived.

Vader had been alone- he seemed to make the other Jedi uncomfortable.

Vader nodded to the Sith. He didn’t say anything though, just watching the other man.

Vader didn’t flinch back, didn’t move his head as Sidious approached, but he recognized Sidious’ expression. A kindly smile with steel in his eyes. A gentle hand that would squeeze ever tighter if he tried to escape.

That face meant _pain._

Sidious leaned in close, voice barely a whisper. “Who are you? And what have you done with Anakin?”

Vader didn’t flinch, didn’t stiffen. In an equally quiet voice, he answered. “I am Darth Vader. I did nothing to the Anakin of this time. I was on the bridge of the Death Star, and then I was here.”

No excuses. No explanations. Facts. And… distractions.

Sidious’ eyes brightened. “The Death Star,” he breathed, “It works?”

It’d been tested on some smaller objects- like moons- but since Vader had missed Alderaan actually blowing up he couldn’t say that he’d seen it destroy a planet… and the thing was so _stupid_ that there were half a dozen ways to blow it up with minimal effort… but _works_ was a rather vague word… “It works.”

Vader cut off the word that wanted to escape, _Master,_ as Kenobi entered the room.

Sidious straightened, his kindly smile resurfacing. Kenobi didn’t look pleased, but he smiled back.

They were all such fools, missing a Sith Lord in their midst, and Vader had been the biggest fool of all for not realizing that said Sith was trying to recruit him- had been trying for _years_.

The Dark Side was stronger. Vader did not regret turning.

He did regret not _noticing_. It made him feel a fool.

“Chancellor,” Kenobi said, “I don’t know how we missed you, I apologize.”

Sidious waved it off. “I knew the way well enough,” he said, “And I needed to speak with him alone.”

Kenobi nodded, then hesitated for a long moment, eyes flicking between Sidious and Vader. “If you asked,” Kenobi finally said, “Do you think he’d tell you who the Sith Lord is? When we ask, all he does is laugh.”

Vader bristled. Kenobi was talking about him as if he wasn’t even there. As though he was more of a husk than a real human being.

Sidious turned, smile firmly intact. “Anakin,” he said, and Vader held in the flinch with long practiced ease, “My dear boy. Would you tell me who the Sith Lord is?”

And Vader felt… confused. It was a direct question. He was supposed to answer those. But did Sidious really want to go ahead with his plans now of all times?

Well… this would be a sufficiently dramatic place to reveal it- though how Sidious planned to get out of the temple…

Well. He obviously had a plan, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked Vader a question. Vader wasn’t allowed to _not_ answer.

“The Sith Lord Darth Sidious,” Vader said, “Is also known as Chancellor Palpatine.”

Palpatine’s smile froze as his eyes widened. “You,” Palpatine hissed, and Vader suddenly realized this was not what Sidious had wanted at all.

Dodging a glowing red lightsaber while connected to this much medical equipment was not fun. At all.


	4. It's a small universe after all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some people meet other people. Kind of.

“You,” Palpatine hissed, and Obi-Wan gasped as the Chancellor _moved._ Obi-Wan was a general, a soldier- and yet he stood frozen as a blade of red light hissed to life in the Chancellor’s hand. The Chancellor was a Sith Lord. The Chancellor was _the_ Sith Lord.

Anakin didn’t freeze.

He rolled off the bed, cords and machines floating upwards with his roll so that when he landed beside the bed none of them were disconnected.

When had he even gotten the handcuffs off?

The Chancellor sprang forward and the entire _wall_ behind Anakin shattered backwards. Someone screamed- Obi-Wan couldn’t tell who, and Anakin extended a hand.

Someone’s lightsaber landed in it and blue clashed with red in a frenzy of blows. Obi-Wan learned two things watching them fight. The Chancellor was far more dangerous than Dooku ever had been and Anakin- Anakin was like a force of nature.

Anakin’s skill would have been impressive if he _hadn’_ t been missing four limbs and his lungs and a good chunk of skin- if he _hadn’t_ been trailing medical equipment.

As it was… the fight was very nearly beautiful.

And then the machines around Anakin began to creak- groaning, metal crumpling.

Anakin shouted, as good as he could with damaged lungs, and Obi-Wan could feel the force surging, could feel Anakin desperately trying to keep the Chancellor from crushing the machines that stood between him and death.

The Chancellor cackled, grinning, and almost before Obi-Wan knew what he was doing he was moving.

Obi-Wan had _almost_ no idea what was going on. But a Sith Lord was trying to kill his friend.

And Obi-Wan wasn’t going to stand by and watch it happen. Not again.

…---…

Vader growled. These stupid force suppressants- if he hadn’t been on them- if he could get the stupid collar off- if he had better limbs- if his body would stop _betraying_ him by being burnt and useless…

It didn’t matter. He could only fight as he was.

And then Obi-Wan joined the fight.

Vader couldn’t help the shock the coursed through him as Obi-Wan’s force presence mixed with his own, shoving Sidious away from Vader’s life support.

And then it was two on one.

Vader had almost forgotten what it felt like to fight with someone who was _almost_ an equal by his side. He hadn’t done it in nineteen years.

Still, even this version of his body knew what to do. Knew when to let Obi-Wan take the brunt of an attack to sneak in his own. Knew when to surge forward and let Obi-Wan fall back. Knew when to fight in tandem with blades flashing faster than the eye could truly comprehend.

Vader could feel Sidious- he was tiring but not tired- and they were getting closer to exit points. All Sidious needed was one clone- one clone to send a message and he’d have an army at his disposal.

And this time- this time Vader wouldn’t be leading it.

He’d be running from it.

…---…

Padme sighed softly. “I don’t know.” She said, “I mean- it’s different here. And there are people I miss- and everyone has gone and grown up without me and it’s- odd. But- we’ve made a life here. Our children are here. Do we even know if there’s a world to go back too?”

Anakin hesitated, and his face, always so open, scrunched up in thought.

“I don’t know,” he finally said, “I just- he’s _me_. And even if that world doesn’t affect this one- don’t I need to fix my mistakes? I can’t just leave them to Vader and Sidious- it wouldn’t be right.”

Padme watched him for a long moment.

“Who do you plan on bringing back?” she finally asked.

“I was thinking you, me, older Luke and Obi-Wan?” he said, “I don’t really want to bring the kids into a war zone. I was thinking we could ask Ahsoka to watch them- or your sister- and I could use Ahsoka as an anchor to drag us back?”

Padme hesitated for a long moment.

But he was right. They could fix things- save things in their own world- and since they _could_ wasn’t it their responsibility to try?

“Alright,” Padme finally said. “Let’s do this.”

…---…

The pain was coming back. Vader wasn’t sure what drugs were in him right now- but the pain ones were wearing off. Possibly because he’s ripped the IV out- though at the time he’d thought that was just delivering the force suppressant.

Apparently not.

Still- he’d fought through pain before. This was nothing new.

But he felt so _tired_. Every step seemed to weigh more than the one before, but he couldn’t slow down. If he did- he’d be dead.

Obi-Wan wasn’t having the same problem.

Vader was torn between cursing and blessing the fact that Obi-Wan was young again as they fought.

And then Vader felt something tug on him, hard. He gasped, freezing for a moment, and that moment was enough. Red light flashed down and his right arm was gone. _Again._ Vader really didn’t understand why he had so much trouble hanging onto his limbs. No one else he’d met seemed to have the same problem.

But Vader didn’t really have time to think about that as four figures seemed to appear from thin air.

Skywalker. Kenobi. Padme. And a boy, a boy who looked so much like Skywalker… the Force seemed to shout, to exalt. _Your son_ , it cheered, _your son, your son, your son._

And though he was technically still supposed to be fighting for his life, Vader could do nothing but gape.


	5. Before six and after four

Anakin hadn’t been sure exactly what he’d expected to find when he’d pulled them back through time using his other self as an anchor.

This… wasn’t it.

Vader stood, missing his right arm, trailing medical equipment, basically ignoring the rest of them to stare at Luke with something like wonder.

The Chan- Sidious’s red blade had lowered slightly as they appeared, wide eyes locked on Anakin.

Obi-Wan was staring at the older version of himself.

Sidious recovered first, lunging at Vader, who jumped backwards to avoid the swinging blade of light as he called a lightsaber out of his severed right hand and into his left.

He was better at fighting with his left hand than Anakin was at fighting with his right. Which was rude.

Though it was probably a good thing since he was fighting a Sith Lord.

Anakin shared a look with Obi-Wan, young Obi-Wan, _his_ Obi-Wan, and then he was moving.

This lightsaber was new. It wasn’t quite all the way blue- there was some red bleeding into it as well, changing it into something like purple. It was more on the blue side though.

A coordinated attack with multiple opponents was hard to defend against. While you could, _technically_ , fight against more than one person at once it was never advisable. The best way to win a fight with multiple opponents was the split them up so you can deal with them one at a time.

Or run away.

Sidious was struggling, barely able to doge away from the blows raining down on him. Luke and older Obi-Wan didn’t join in, instead blocking off escape routes.

Sidious was breathing hard, gasping as Vader moved forward. He raised his blade to block Vader’s strike, and Vader turned his blade off for a moment so that the two passed by each other. He ducked under Sidious’ strike, lunging forward, and managed to stab Sidious’s in the side. Sidious gasped as Vader moved, ramming the blade upwards.

Vader was flying backwards a moment later, barely managing to catch himself before being slammed into a wall.

Obi-Wan and Anakin moved forward, pressing their advantage when a squad of Clone Troopers, led by Mundi, came into view.

“Order 66!” Sidious shouted, “Order 66!”

The reaction was immediate. Guns that had been trained on the Sith Lord moments ago turned on the Jedi and fired.

Anakin deflected the shots on instinct, ducking forward to cover Luke. Luke’d been trained well but he’d only really been in combat once, and it had been a space battle, fought with ships rather than lightsabers and blasters. Anakin didn’t want him to get hurt.

Anakin heard sickening snapping sounds crack across the hallway as, one after another, the Trooper’s necks snapped, and they all fell to the floor in broken heaps.

Vader stood, hand outstretched, and Anakin knew how they’d died. He’d killed them. With the Force.

You weren’t supposed to use the Force to attack like that. It wasn’t- it wasn’t right.

Vader looked almost pleased for a moment, glancing around the room, then he looked again, sweeping his gaze across the bodies on the floor. Panic flooded his expression, then anger as his mouth set in a grim line. He ran forward but old Obi-Wan intercepted, blade extended.

“Out of my way!” Vader shouted, but Obi-Wan didn’t move. Vader swung at him and Obi-Wan blocked.

“He’s getting away you fool!” Vader yelled, trying to side step Obi-Wan again.

And Anakin felt something sinking in his gut. Where the outer wall of the temple had been there was now a hole, plenty large enough for Sidious to fit through.

Sidious had escaped.

…---…

Mace Windu, along with most of the Jedi Council and several other Jedi, made it to the scene of the fight, minutes after Sidious was gone. Old Anakin was growling at an old Obi-Wan, both of their blades still out, while young Anakin was trying to explain to young Obi-Wan where he and Senator Amidala had gone and that yes, he was several years older now than he had been a couple of days ago..

A young man and Senator Amidala stood together, watching both conversations with great interest.

They couldn’t afford to stand around. A Sith Lord was on the loose, and he had a way to control the clones. To make them follow him. Mundi had said all he’d needed to say was “Order 66.”

Mace sighed, rubbing his forehead.

As much as he wanted an explanation on what was going on and why there were multiple versions of Obi-Wan and Anakin running around- that would have to wait.

Old Anakin had fought against the Sith Lord, apparently, so that was one point in his favor. Still- the darkness, rolling off him in waves was more than disconcerting.

“We need to find him,” Mace said, “Do any of you know where he went? At least the direction he was headed?”

“He went back to the Senate,” old Anakin said, looking like he was a moment away from launching himself at old Obi-Wan and racing after Sidious trailing medical equipment and missing an arm.

“He’ll release Order 66 there; the clones will begin attacking and killing the Jedi. He will go to the Senate, show his lightsaber wound, say that the Jedi tried to kill him so that they could take control, and declare himself Emperor.

“He will send assassins after the Seperatist leaders and take control of their planets. He will rule a united empire, and he will use his armies to exterminate all Force users outside of his control. So I would suggest that we _move out_ , and kill him before he has the chance.”

Mace wouldn’t have been all that worried, except for the fact that everyone, from old Obi-Wan to the boy Mace didn’t know, was nodding along to old Anakin’s words, though old Obi-Wan looked sour about it.

Mace wanted time to process and to plan, but they didn’t have time to spare. They needed to move now, or risk extinction.


End file.
